Last time on Project HermitVengers:

The Voids aren't too happy with each other- and it's making EVERYBODY anxious!

Cub and Scar miss each other...

MOVING ON-

-----------

Bdubs looked back and forth between the two brothers as they faced away from each other with glares on both their faces. 'And I thought their normal bickering was bad...'

"Has it gotten better?" Tango asked anxiously, coming up from behind him with two boxes.

Bdubs shook his head and took the food offered to him. "Nope..."

Alex suddenly stood up and walked off, and the other two watched as Xisuma turned just in time to see his brother's figure vanish behind a corner.

They waited to see what his reaction was... and it was practically nothing. He just looked back down at the floor.

"Tell you what... you get Zed and Impulse, maybe I can help Suma.." Bdubs sighed, fidgeting with his borrowed jacket. Tango nodded and attempted a reassuring smile before leaving.

'We'll be okay... It's not the end of the world.'

The past day or so had been... unusual. And not in the fun way. The sudden change in attitude throughout the entire group made Bdubs very uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but find himself trying to at least fix a bit of it. He didn't like seeing the safe space the Voids had created suddenly become so tense, so he'd encouraged the others to go around the city together and explore, try to take their minds off of it.

Maybe he should follow his own advice...

Seeing Alex the way he was didn't sit right with Xisuma. Yeah, he wasn't too happy with him and vice versa, but...

He didn't like them both acting like this. And he could tell the others didn't like it either. But how was he supposed to fix this?

Did he even start it?

Xisuma jumped at hearing his brother's laugh. His head whipped towards where it seemed to come from, and he was surprised (more so than before) to hear three other people joining in.

"C'mon you three- Let's not test fate any more than we already have!" Alex said rather cheerfully. After a moment, X saw the ZIT trio pass by, Zedaph and Impulse each holding one of Alex's arms and practically dragging him off somewhere as Tango followed behind.

It made Xisuma's heart sink a bit, reminded of Bdubs' attempt at cheering him up. Had he really just brushed him off like that?

"I'm fine, Bdubs. I just... need to be alone for a bit. Thanks for trying." He had said.

"Thanks for trying"? That's what he'd said to someone who'd tried to help him? Some friend he was.

Shaking his head, Xisuma made himself take a deep breath.

Maybe... if Alex was in a better mood, he'd be willing to listen. Maybe he could at least ask for a truce, to deal with the issue later and go back to how it'd been. He really should apologize to Alex for the things he'd blurted out, even if he'd been told some awful things too.

'I'm sorry, Mum... I know you'd hate to see us like this.' This isn't how their mother taught them to be... they were supposed to be smart. To think it through, not rush in head first, emotions and magic blazing.

Sighing, Xisuma started to think it through. Knowing his brother, he'd need a bit longer with the trio to cool down, to be in a good enough mood to (hopefully) not just slap X on sight.

But then what would he say? Something like "Hey Alex, I know I said you were basically worthless without me and you told me that it's just me, but no hard feelings, right?"

Yeah. Like that would work.

"Okay... Guess I'll wing it." Xisuma sighed, standing up. "I got this... It'll be okay. It has to be, for their sakes..."

Still, he couldn't ignore the weight on his chest as he walked over to where he knew Alex and the trio would go after they were done. Thoughts buzzing in his head, all Xisuma could do to ignore it was remind himself that even if it went wrong, one argument couldn't possibly ruin their whole lives, not over something as petty as Xisuma feeling left behind.

Cleo, seeing Xisuma walking over with his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, nudged Joe a bit. "Hey, he's here..."

Joe didn't know if X knew it or not, but he didn't look so great. Hair tangled as much as it could be at its length and all over the place, mask put on inside-out, hood over his head to barely hide his tired eyes... yeah, he looked like he hadn't paid much attention to how he looked, less so than they all really could while on the streets.

"Is Alex back yet?" the sorcerer asked, not seeming aware of who exactly he was talking to.

The other two exchanged concerned and confused glances. Joe spoke up, "Nah, I think he's with Tango, Im-"

"Alright."

'Uhh....' Okay, X interrupting people (who weren't Alex) was definitely new.

The silence filling the alley wasn't the usual comfortable silence they usually got with Xisuma. Instead, it was... tense. And very, very awkward.

'Should we just leave..?' Cleo looked around a bit, whistling. 'Would that be rude?'

Thankfully, a distraction arrived via Impulse and Zedaph.

As Alex saw his brother, he stopped mid-laugh to stare at him with an expression nobody could really decipher. ".... Xisuma."

"Alex... we need to talk."

Oh. This should go well.

"What." Alex barely whispered, following Xisuma away from the staring group.

The other didn't answer for a moment. At first, Alex thought he was getting some kind of silent treatment, but... then Xisuma choked out, "I'm sorry."

Which isn't what Alex was expecting going into this. When he saw Xisuma clearly waiting for him, he was expecting a yelling match part two, not an apology.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for that to end up like this- I know normally when we fight, it's just forgotten but- I'm sorry, it's hurting you and hurting everyone else, and I shouldn't have-" Xisuma started to ramble, cut off by Alex grabbing his shoulders with a soft smile.

"Hey. It's okay." Alex sighed, his previous anger fading. "I... I don't think either of us... really dealt with that great."

"Heh... yeah... we both were derps, huh?"

The heaping, painful tension between the two suddenly dissolved as they both laughed.

"Can... Can we deal with that issue later? Once we... I don't know, once we're both actually ready?" Xisuma looked at his brother hopefully.

Alex thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Yeah. This issue too. I... I don't think either of us can deal with... survival and emotional nonsense at the same time."

"Calm people live, and neither of us were calm." Xisuma partially-joked, going to ruffle Alex's hair.

"Hey! Don't make my hair look like your mess!"

"My hair isn't a mess!"

"Go look in a mirror, you derp!"

-----------

Mumbo sat against the wall, looking at the alley around him. The sun was starting to set, and he was starting to shiver from the growing cold, with only his jeans and long sleeve shirt to keep him warm. "Maybe I didn't think this through..."

With trembling hands, Mumbo pulled out one of his smaller projects. If he was gonna die from the cold, he might as well do something he liked.

"Could've at least taken enough money for a hotel room or something..." He muttered to himself, moving to unzip his bag with shaky hands. "Those aren't too expensive, right?"

He started to tinker around with a tool and half-working circuit board he'd gotten from a thrown out cell phone. "Oh, who am I kidding- New York hotels probably cost like a million dollars a night!"

Mumbo sighed, then jumped when he heard someone talking and getting close. Shoving his stuff back as quickly and quietly as possible, he scurried behind the dumpster and tried to not gag.

"-just saying, Isu, your portals still suck."

"That's about the twelfth time you've told me that-"

A third person seemed to sigh. "Can you both not?"

Mumbo tensed up as he saw a shadow step closer into the alley, closer to him. Trying to move to hide better, his hand smacked a half-crushed can, knocking it over quite loudly.

'... nice and quiet, Mumbo. NICE. and QUIET.'

"What was that!?"

Welp.

Nerves skyrocketing as he prayed that somehow whoever was there wouldn't check, Mumbo tried to force his body to stay still.

Two masked faces popped out from the side of the large garbage bin.

"Whatcha doin' there?" Two similar voices asked in unison.

Minutes later, and Bdubs could see the raven-haired kid (Mumbo) had finally stopped freaking out over... everything (Cleo especially had scared the life out of him, which was fair).

The poor guy was still freezing and shivering as he told his story to everyone: how he'd gotten a bit sick of his parents' (at best) confusing and (at worst) harmful parenting tactics and decided he was sick of it. Iskall especially seemed understanding of his situation, sitting next to Mumbo with the Voids and nodding with a small frown.

"I'm sorry, man... That's gotta suck." Ren gave him an empathetic smile. "On the bright side, once you get in this group, you never get out."

Alex snorted. "Yep. But hey, we'll feed you and getcha warm, don't worry."

Giving a rather nervous sounding chuckle, Mumbo nodded a little. "Thanks... I guess?"

A few people laughed, and Mumbo found himself joining in.

"Here, man- Speaking of getting you warm!" Ren started to take off his jacket.

"Oh- No, no it's okay, you don't-"

Before he could finish, Mumbo had been affectionately shoved into Ren's warm hoodie that smelled suspiciously like dog fur. "No buts! I'll be fine!"

"Big brother Ren to the rescue!" Iskall joked, ruffling the werewolf's hair as he sat next to them (making Ren's tail wag happily and everyone giggle a little). Mumbo smiled a bit, adjusting the hoodie and looking around at the group.

'This is... certainly not what I was expecting.'

But he wasn't mad about it, and neither were the others: not when Tango asked him questions about the Stark Industries t-shirt he was wearing and earned a whole rant it, not when Iskall had fallen asleep on him, and even Cleo didn't really freak him out (as much) after a while of just sitting and talking.

Weirdly enough... it felt like home. Maybe staying with these people wouldn't be a bad idea.

-----------

WHOOOOO

- CinnabonSys (trying to stick to a schedule, we promise-)